The Real Madrid and Portugal star had to settle for second place last season in both the editors' and fans' votes, but has gone one better in each this time around, seeing off the Argentine by 2,800 votes.

Over 39,000 votes were clocked up over the 24 hour voting period, with the vast majority going to the top two players. Lagging some distance behind was Italy veteran Andrea Pirlo, who enjoyed such an inspirational season with Juventus before performing to the same high standard in Euro 2012, while Didier Drogba finished fourth.

Ronaldo's club-mate Iker Casillas, who finished second in the editors' vote, could only come fifth in the fans' poll.

Below are results from the fans' vote on the International edition. In the table you can also see where the player stood in the main Goal.com 50 2011-12 award.

Main Ranking

Fans' Ranking

Player

Votes (Percent)

1

1

Cristiano Ronaldo

41.34%

3

2

Lionel Messi

34.31%

5

3

Andrea Pirlo

10.99%

6

4

Didier Drogba

5.33%

2

5

Iker Casillas

3.72%

4

6

Andres Iniesta

1.89%

9

7

Yaya Toure

0.90%

7

8

Xavi

0.55%

8

9

Ashley Cole

0.49%

10

10

Sergio Ramos

0.48%

Ronaldo, who had claimed this award in 2008, its inaugural year, said after winning the main prize: "It’s a matter of pride for me to win this award.

"I would not have been able to do it without the support of my team-mates."

Remember also to check out the main Goal.com 50 rankings to see profiles of all the top performers of last season.

Above all, do not forget: only a year to go until the next set of awards...